Let's move to... Perpignan, Roussillon

Friday 13 July 2001 20.42 EDT
First published on Friday 13 July 2001 20.42 EDT

You won't get your year in Provence for a few spare francs any more: a couple of minutes, perhaps. Second-homers should try this spot by the Spanish border instead. Once mocked as the 'poor man's Riviera', it does indeed (thankfully) lack pose, but has all the sun and beaches, and (touché, St Tropez) the ski slopes of the Pyrenees are only a short drive away.

Ups Just 45 minutes to the slopes, closer to the sea. Quiet, garden-filled city with lots of French flair and few tourists. France's sunniest area. Good value, and well connected to Britain.

Downs You're off the beaten track a bit, and the area lacks glamour. But I'm clutching at straws, really.

Getting around Ryanair flies to Perpignan (twice a day, from £48 one way). The railway stretches to Spain and Nice. The TGV reaches Paris in six hours, and, by 2004, will make Barcelona a 40-minute commute. Bliss.

Property Cheap, but rising. That said, you can pick up a crumbling cottage for Fr200,000 (£18,500). For tiptop condition, expect to pay Fr600,000 (£55,500) or more. Villages in the Conflent valley, or on the rugged Côte Vermeille are popular. The city is pricier, and less popular with the British (a bonus?). Agents: Propriétés Roussillon (0121 459 9058; proprietes-roussillon.com), or cliquez-vous on mairie-perpignan.fr and perpignan.webcity.fr.